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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — not warm
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. root — of a plant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — an illness
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — in a road
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tear — from crying
  22. root — of a word
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com